Do I Need Car Insurance to Drive? Requirements by State

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Car insurance is required by law for drivers in almost every state. Even if you live in a state where it isn’t a legal requirement, you will likely still need car insurance if you want to get a loan to pay off your car. In addition, you may want to purchase more car insurance than is required in order to better protect yourself from unexpected accidents.

Read below for more details about every state's auto insurance requirements.

Key Takeaways:

  • Car insurance is mandatory in every state except for New Hampshire and Virginia.
  • Liability insurance is almost universally required by law, while your lender will likely require you to buy comprehensive and collision insurance.
  • Each state has its own minimum coverage requirements, but you may want to upgrade to a policy with 100/300/100 liability limits for greater protection.
  • The consequences for driving uninsured can include fines, license suspension and imprisonment.

Why Is Car Insurance Mandatory?

In most states, car insurance is mandatory because it prevents people from having to pay high medical or repair bills after an accident they are not responsible for. If you have liability insurance, the most common type of state-mandated coverage, it will cover the other person’s expenses if you injure them or damage their property in a car crash.

Depending on the state you live in, you may also have to purchase additional coverage that can take care of your own bills, even if you were responsible for the accident. Below is an overview of the major types of car insurance drivers are often required to buy.

Coverage

Description

Example

Bodily Injury Liability (BI)

If you were the at-fault driver, pays for another person’s medical bills, lost wages and funeral expenses plus legal fees if they sue you

You hit a pedestrian with your car and break their leg

Property Damage Liability (PD)

Pays for repairs to another person’s car, home or belongings if you crash into them plus repairs to any public property you crash into

You run over your neighbor’s mailbox while backing out of your driveway

Uninsured Motorist (UM)

Pays for your medical expenses and car repairs if you are hit by someone who doesn’t have car insurance, or if you can’t identify the driver after a hit-and-run

Someone without auto insurance runs a red light and crashes into the side of your car

Underinsured Motorist (UIM)

Covers the difference if you are struck by a driver who doesn’t have enough insurance to fully pay for your medical expenses or car repairs

A driver with $5,000 worth of property damage liability coverage deals $7,000 worth of damage to your car

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

Pays for your medical bills, lost wages and funeral expenses if you are at fault for the accident

You get whiplash after crashing into another vehicle and need to take two weeks off work

Medical Payments (Medpay)

Pays for your medical bills and funeral expenses if you are at fault for the accident, but doesn’t cover lost wages

You are rushed to the emergency room after a car crash

In addition, if you are financing or leasing your car, your lender or lessor will usually require you to buy full coverage auto insurance until you repay your loan or your lease is up. A full coverage policy will typically include the minimum amount of insurance required by your state, plus comprehensive and collision coverage, which provides you with physical damage protection.

Comprehensive coverage accounts for damage caused by perils like fire, hail, vandalism and theft. For example, comprehensive coverage would kick in if a chunk of hail cracked your windshield or if your car was stolen and the police never recovered it.

Collision coverage pays for repairs to your car after you collide with another vehicle or object, regardless of who is at fault. For example, you would be covered by your collision coverage if you dozed off at the wheel and crashed into a tree.

Where Is Car Insurance Required?

Drivers are generally required to carry car insurance in the District of Columbia and every state except for New Hampshire and Virginia. New Hampshire instead has a financial responsibility requirement, meaning drivers must prove they have enough money to cover the costs of a car accident if they want to drive without insurance.[1] Meanwhile, drivers in Virginia can forgo car insurance if they pay an annual $500 Uninsured Motor Vehicle fee.[2]

Map of state car insurance requirements

The remaining 48 states and D.C. all require drivers to have property damage liability coverage. Furthermore, all of them but Florida require bodily injury liability coverage.[3] Several states have additional requirements regarding uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, personal injury protection and medical payments coverage.

Find a Cheaper Auto Policy in Your State

How Much Car Insurance Do I Need?

How much car insurance you need is largely based on what state you live in. Every state has its own liability coverage requirements expressed in an A/B/C format, where A is the bodily injury liability limit for one person, B is the bodily injury liability limit for multiple people and C is the property damage liability limit.

For example, if you live in a state that sets its minimum liability coverage at 25/50/25, then you would need to purchase a car insurance policy that provides $25,000 for a single person injured in an accident, $50,000 to split among all of the people injured in an accident and $25,000 for property repairs. Alternatively, some states allow you to purchase a policy with a single combined limit for both types of liability coverage.

Below is an overview of the specific coverage types and limits required by each state.[4]

State/District

Minimum Liability Requirements

Other Minimum Requirements

Alabama

25/50/25

N/A

Alaska

50/100/25

N/A

Arizona

25/50/15

N/A

Arkansas

25/50/25

N/A

California

15/30/5 for standard policies or 10/20/3 through the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program

N/A

Colorado

25/50/15

N/A

Connecticut

25/50/25

25/50 UM/UIM

Delaware

25/50/10

15/30 PIP

District of Columbia

25/50/10

25/50/5 UM

Florida

$10,000 PD

$10,000 PIP

Georgia

25/50/25

N/A

Hawaii

20/40/10

$10,000 per person PIP

Idaho

25/50/15

N/A

Illinois

25/50/20

25/50 UM (UIM required only on policies that exceed minimum limits)

Indiana

25/50/25

UM/UIM coverage is automatically included but may be rejected in writing

Iowa

20/40/15

N/A

Kansas

25/50/25

25/50 UM/UIM and the following PIP requirements:

  • $4,500 per person for medical expenses
  • $900 a month for one year to cover lost income (for the injured person or survivors if the injured person dies)
  • $25 a day for in-home services (for the injured person or survivors if the injured person dies)
  • $2,000 for funeral expenses
  • $4,500 for rehabilitation expenses

Kentucky

25/50/25 or $60,000 single limit policy

$10,000 per person PIP

Louisiana

15/30/25

N/A

Maine

50/100/25 or $125,000 single limit policy

50/100 UM/UIM and $2,000 per person Medpay

Maryland

30/60/15

30/60/15 UM/UIM (PIP required only on policies that exceed minimum limits)

Massachusetts

20/40/5

20/40 UM and $8,000 per person PIP

Michigan

20/40/10

$250,000 PIP (drivers on Medicaid or Medicare who meet certain criteria can have lower coverage limits) and $1 million in property protection insurance (covers damage to another person's property excluding moving and improperly-parked vehicles)

Minnesota

30/60/10

25/50 UM/UIM and $40,000 per person PIP ($20,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 for non-medical expenses)

Mississippi

25/50/25

N/A

Missouri

25/50/25

25/50 UM

Montana

25/50/20

N/A

Nebraska

25/50/25

25/50 UM/UIM

Nevada

25/50/20

N/A

New Hampshire

Financial responsibility or 25/50/25

Financial responsibility or 25/50 UM/UIM and $1,000 Medpay

New Jersey

25/50/25 for standard policies or $5,000 PD for basic policies

25/50 UM/UIM and $15,000 per person PIP for standard policies or $15,000 per person PIP for basic policies

New Mexico

25/50/10

N/A

New York

25/50/10 (plus 50/100 for wrongful death)

25/50 UM and $50,000 per person PIP (plus a $2,000 death benefit)

North Carolina

30/60/25

30/60/25 UM (UIM required only on policies that exceed minimum limits)

North Dakota

25/50/25

25/50 UM/UIM and $30,000 per person PIP

Ohio

25/50/25

N/A

Oklahoma

25/50/25

N/A

Oregon

25/50/20

25/50 UM/UIM and $15,000 per person PIP

Pennsylvania

15/30/5 or $35,000 single limit policy

$5,000 PIP (also known as first-party medical benefits)

Rhode Island

25/50/25

UM/UIM required only on policies that exceed minimum limits

South Carolina

25/50/25

25/20/25 UM

South Dakota

25/50/25

25/50 UM/UIM

Tennessee

25/50/25

N/A

Texas

30/60/25

N/A

Utah

25/65/15

$3,000 PIP

Vermont

25/50/10 or $115,000 in self-insurance

50/100/10 UM/UIM

Virginia

UMV fee or 30/60/20

UM/UIM coverage is automatically included but may be rejected in writing

Washington

25/50/10

N/A

West Virginia

25/50/25

25/50/25 UM

Wisconsin

25/50/10

25/50 UM

Wyoming

25/50/20

N/A

In addition, it is generally beneficial to purchase more than the minimum amount of car insurance required in your state. For example, if you cause a car crash that injures four people and they rack up $100,000 in medical bills, then a 25/50/25 policy would leave you to pay $50,000 out of pocket. As a result, it is commonly recommended that you purchase a 100/300/100 policy.[5]

Do I Need Car Insurance if I Drive a Car That Isn’t Mine?

You do not need to have car insurance if you drive a car that isn’t yours because insurance follows the car and not the driver. This means that the other person’s auto insurance should cover you if you get into an accident while driving their car with their permission.

The only exception to this rule is if the other person’s insurance company has you listed as an excluded driver.

For example, if someone has a child who was at fault for multiple car crashes in the past year, their insurance company might require that child to be on a separate policy from the rest of the family.

Do All of My Cars Need To Be Insured?

If you want to drive legally and receive coverage in the event of an accident, then all of your cars must be listed on your auto insurance policy. Even if you merely forget to add a new car to your insurance policy, your insurer will not reimburse you in the event of an accident.

Multiple cars can be insured under a single policy but have different coverages. For example, if you have a backup car that you don’t plan on driving in the near future, it may be more cost-effective to cover it under a policy that doesn’t have collision coverage while maintaining collision coverage for your primary vehicle. Alternatively, you are allowed to purchase separate car insurance policies for each of your cars — you may use a different provider to insure a sports car you drive on the weekends, for instance.

What Happens if I Don’t Have the Required Car Insurance Minimum?

If you are caught driving without your state’s minimum required car insurance, you could be fined, have your license suspended or even face time in jail. The exact penalties for driving without car insurance vary from state to state, with many states imposing harsher penalties for repeat violations.

In addition, several other costs can arise from driving uninsured, including:

  • License reinstatement and vehicle impoundment fees
  • Higher insurance rates due to companies flagging you as a high-risk driver
  • Lost income while serving a prison sentence

FAQs

Which states require car insurance?

Car insurance is required in every state except for New Hampshire and Virginia. It is also mandatory in Washington, D.C.

Are there any states where car insurance isn’t mandatory?

You do not need car insurance to drive in New Hampshire or West Virginia. However, drivers in New Hampshire must meet a financial responsibility requirement showing they can cover the costs of an accident, while drivers in Virginia must pay an annual $500 fee to drive uninsured.[2]

Is it illegal to drive without car insurance?

It is illegal to drive without car insurance in most states. If you are caught driving uninsured, you could face fines, a suspended license and even jail time.

Sources

  1. New Hampshire Insurance Department. “2022 Automobile Insurance Consumer Frequently Asked Questions.” Accessed Feb. 23, 2023.
  2. Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. “Insurance Requirements.” Accessed Feb. 23, 2023.
  3. Insurance Information Institute. “Automobile Financial Responsibility Laws by State.” Accessed Feb. 23, 2023.
  4. Minimum limits were obtained from individual state Departments of Insurance, Motor Vehicles, etc.
  5. Oklahoma Insurance Department. “Auto Insurance: Common Myths.” Accessed Feb. 23, 2023.

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